Tourism Places Near Madurai
Chettinadu Palace
Located 10 km from karaikudi, Tamilnadu. The chettinadu palace was designed and constructed by Dr.Annamalai Chettiyar, founder of the Indian Bank and the Annamalai University in Chidambaram. Most of the construction materials, decorative items and furnishings used to construct chettinadu palace were imported from the East Asian countries and Europe.
Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal is a hill station in Dindigul District, 120km from Madurai. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred as the "Princess of Hill Stations" and has a long history as a retreat and a popular tourist destination.
Courtallam
Courtallam (kutraalam) is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of 160m on the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. Many seasonal and a few perennial rivers such as the Chittar River, the Manimuthar river, the paachaiyar river and the Tambaraparani river originate in this region. The numerous waterfalls and cascades along with the ubiquitous health resorts in the area have earned it the title, the Spa of South India.
Keelaselvanoor Bird Sanctuary
Mela-Kela Selvanoor bird sanctuary is located near Sayalkudi in Ramanathapuram district. It was declared as sanctuary in the year 1998. This is the biggest birds sanctuary in Tamilnadu. The total area of the sanctuary is 593ha. It forms part of Melaselvanoor and Keelaselvanoor villages of Kadaladi taluk of Ramanathapuram district. Migrated birds are seen during December to March.
Kundankulam Bird Sanctuary
Kundankulam Bird Sanctuary or Kunthankulam is a 1.29 sq. km (0.4993 sq mi) protected area declared as a sanctuary in 1994.It adjoins the tiny village of Koothankulam in Nanguneri taluk of Tirunelveli district. Migratory birds are seen in the sanctuary from December to March. Many of them roost on tree tops near houses. Villagers welcome them and keep the village noise free by not using fire crackers or any other noise that will scare them away.
Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary
The sanctuary is encompassing Periya Kollukudi patti, Chinna kollukudi patti and vettangudi patti tanks extending to a total area of 38.4 ha. The only bird sanctuary located in the Sivaganga district, was declared as sanctuary in June 1977.
Palani
Palani has been mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature as "Podhini", which came to be called as Palani later. This temple is suituated in Palani town in Dindigul district. It is an ancient and very big temple getting a large income among all the temples in Tamilnadu. This temple is one of the Arupadaiveedu (six abodes of Lord Karthikeya) namely Arulmigu Thiruvaanvinankudi temple which is one of the sub-temples of this temple.
Rameswaram
Rameswaram is as ancient as Ramayana and was noted in the Ramayana. Devotees hailed Rameswaram as the Varanasi of the south. Rameswaram is a sacred space touched by the divine presence of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Rama and its many temples will bring you peace, joy and enlightenment. It is southern most Hindu pilgrimage as it is located on an island off the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu. The island has an area of 52 square kilometres and is separated from the mainland by the Pamban Canal and connected by the Indira Gandhi Bridge. The island is in the Gulf of Mannar and right across the bay is the island of Sri Lanka, which is just 74 km away. Rameswaram is about 170 km from Madurai, which is well connected by a national highway with travel time of about 3 hours.
It is one of the Chaar Dhaams of Vishnu. It is a part of the legend of Rama and most of the temples here are connected to episodes from the Ramayana. It also has one of the twelve sacred Jyotirlingams of Shiva. Therefore it is a Harihara Tirtha, a pilgrimage sacred to both Vaishnavas and Shaivas. Rama prayed here to the warrior goddess Durga and so there is a famous temple dedicated to her at Devipattinam.
In Hinduism the confluence of the waters of rivers and oceans are considered sacred and Rameswaram is at the site of a rare merging of the waters of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. The faithful say the island is shaped like the conch of Lord Vishnu called panchajanya.